A Little Girl Dream

What little girl hasn’t loved dressing up as a princess? Cinderella made little girls dream of finding a handsome prince, marrying him, and living happily ever after. Unfortunately, for the many thousands of victims of human trafficking, hope to escape the trap of sexual servitude, too often, is just about as realistic as a fairy godmother or a pumpkin carriage. 

Glass Slipper

I’m an advocate for the victims of human trafficking (specifically, sex trafficking) whose freedom will come only when justice breaks the loathsome cycle of violence. Learning, feeling, seeing, and speaking about the injustices is only the beginning. I can have concern for a little girl—I see her playing and ask: How could anyone harm a precious, innocent little girl (or any child!)? Compassion is good, but only by getting to the core of the problem and taking action does hope exist to answer the question and end the problem.

Advocacy is not a magical glass slipper resolution, but it’s a step in the right direction.

Listen to this, Minnesota being the first state to publish the assertion on July 7, 2018: “Pornography is now officially recognized as a contributor to human trafficking.” Call it what it is. Pornography is evil. Sex trafficking is evil. And there’s a relationship between the two.

Child Pornography: America’s Greatest Shame

The secret affecting children nationwide is pornography. According to The Innocent Justice Foundation, there are steps you can take to stop it.

1. If you find child pornography, report it.

Studies show that there is a one-to-one correlation between viewing child pornography and being a child molester.  If you find child pornography on a friend or family member’s computer, cellphone, Xbox, or another tech device please know that any child coming in contact with that person is at serious risk. Your life may be at risk. Do not confront your friend or family member. Instead, call the police immediately and ensure your own and your child’s safety. 

If you wait to confront your loved one, there will be a strong chance he or she will manipulate you into silence, and destroy the evidence. Your child may be too ashamed to admit that they are being abused by your loved one. You, as the adult, must make the correct choice.

2. Understand that child pornography, in reality, is crime scene photography of children being sexually abused, most of whom are American children.

Calling these child sexual abuse images “child porn” or “kiddie porn” minimizes the brutal truth of the reality that 99% of image collections seized have images of children as young as babies in diapers being raped or tortured. These are children being heinously abused and they need our help to be rescued from unspeakable harm.

3. Support your local law enforcement agency so that they can get the necessary tools to take child pornography offenders off your local streets. Nearly 625,000 child pornography traders have been identified nationwide, however, only 61 Internet Crimes Against Children task forces have been allocated minimal funding to take them off the streets. They need our help for local, state and federal funding to make our neighborhoods safe again for our children. For more information go to https://innocentjustice.org.

Because The Workers Are Few

It’s not enough to agonize over the problem of violence against children. Find a way to get involved in the solution. One step at a time, with God’s help.

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”— Matthew 9:35-38